This truly is the BEST Vegan Mac and Cheese and it’s easy to make! The stovetop version is ready in less than 20 minutes, or bake it for a few minutes with a buttery breadcrumb topping. Irresistibly cheesy and creamy without a hint of dairy!
My favorite thing about this recipe is how easy and quick it is to throw together. It’s ready in the same time it would take for you to make a box of regular mac and cheese!
When I’m craving comfort food, I turn to a big bowl of noodles, and this plant based mac and cheese hits the spot. The luscious sauce is oh-so-creamy, cheesy and mild with just a little tang. It’s sure to become a staple meal in your home!
I highly recommend pairing it with some sort of vegetable or salad. My favorite add-ins are: thawed frozen green peas, roasted brussels sprouts, roasted cauliflower or broccoli, roasted asparagus or cooked kale.
Stovetop or baked macaroni and cheese
I’ve included both a simple stovetop version (ready in less than 20 minutes) and a baked version. If you have a few extra minutes, the baked version is out of this world amazing!
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Raw cashews – This is what makes the sauce so delightfully creamy and cheesy at the same time. There isn’t a good substitute for this recipe, but if you need a nut free cheese sauce, try this Nut Free Vegan Cheese Sauce instead and pair it with noodles. I also created Dairy Free Mac and Cheese, which is nut free.
- Water
- Fresh lemon juice – From about 1 large lemon. Use fresh squeezed for the best flavor. I love my lemon juicer and use it daily.
- Nutritional yeast – If you really dislike it or don’t have it, you could leave it out. But it adds a lot of cheesy flavor.
- Turmeric – Mostly for color!
- Garlic powder – For flavor. A little bit of onion powder also works well here.
- Salt
- Vegan cheese – I added a bag of Follow Your Heart cheddar shreds. This is optional, but I loved the extra cheesiness and creaminess it added.
- Elbow noodles – Or your favorite pasta. Use gluten free if needed. But for classic mac and cheese, use white elbow noodles.
- Panko bread crumbs – Make sure they are vegan friendly. Optional for the baked version.
- Vegan butter – Also for the buttery crumb topping.
- Smoked paprika
How to make vegan mac and cheese
It’s so easy to prepare, you won’t believe it!
- Pour boiling hot water over the cashews in a bowl or measuring dish. I usually heat water in my tea kettle or a small pot, then pour it over the nuts. Get your pasta cooking as well.
- Let the nuts soak for about 5 minutes. If you don’t have a Vitamix, you may want to let them soak for an hour or even overnight so they will get smooth when you blend them. Drain the cashews and add them to a blender, along with the fresh water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, turmeric, garlic powder, salt and vegan cheese if using.
- Blend until very, very smooth! This will take a few minutes, perhaps a little longer if you are using a regular blender.
- If making the baked version, mix the breadcrumbs, butter and paprika in a small bowl until crumbly.
If making the stovetop version, simply drain the pasta, add it back to the pot and pour in the cheese sauce. Stir until it thickens somewhat, then serve immediately.
For the baked version, add the drained noodles to a casserole dish and pour in the cheese sauce. Stir so the noodles are coated.
Sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over the top and bake for about 15 minutes. Do NOT over bake or it will dry out. I also broiled it just for a few minutes until the breadcrumbs turned a golden brown.
How to thin the sauce if it’s too thick
Serve the mac and cheese right away for the best texture and flavor. The sauce will thicken as it sits, even after 20 minutes. But I have a solution! Simply add some additional warm water (a few tablespoons at a time) and stir it in well. The sauce will thin perfectly – problem solved!
Do the same thing with leftovers. When reheating, add some more water and stir until you reach the desired consistency. This won’t work well with the baked version, but I found these leftovers saved better anyhow.
Tips for the best vegan mac and cheese
- Classic elbow noodles – While other pasta is totally fine to use, classic elbow noodles will give the dish that certain mac and cheese feel.
- High powered blender – This is probably the most important thing. It might work okay with a regular blender or food processor, but to really create a cheesy, perfectly smooth sauce out of cashews, you need a Vitamix or other high powered blender.
- Fresh lemon juice – The flavor will be much better with fresh squeezed lemon juice than if you use bottled.
- Add in some vegetables! I think this makes mac and cheese amazing. My favorite is stirring in some roasted vegetables, yum.
- Sprinkle some vegan bacon for extra flavor and protein – Try my tempeh bacon or tofu bacon.
Frequently asked questions
- Does it freeze well? The sauce itself freezes wonderfully, and is great for freezing, then taking out small portions for single meals or kids lunches. You could even freeze the sauce in an ice cube tray, then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. I don’t recommend freezing the pasta + sauce, as it gets very thick and mushy.
- How to store and reheat leftovers – The dish will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator. And like I said above, add more water to the leftover pasta so it’s not too thick. The baked version won’t need any additional water. Reheat in the microwave until warm and enjoy.
- Can you make vegan mac and cheese without nutritional yeast? You can, yes. If you leave it out, make sure to add the bag of vegan cheese. Nutritional yeast gives vegan cheese sauces a wonderful cheesiness, but some people don’t care for it.
More drool-worthy pasta recipes
- Vegan Baked Ziti
- The Best Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- Creamy Vegan Carbonara
- Vegan Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese
The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Mac and cheese
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 2 cups water or less if not using vegan cheese, see Notes
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 (7-oz) bag shredded vegan cheddar cheese, optional
- 12 ounces elbow pasta
Optional breadcrumb topping
- 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prep – If planning on baking it with the breadcrumb topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a casserole dish (I used a 9×13 inch dish). Skip this step for stovetop mac and cheese.
- Soak the cashews – Soften your cashews by covering them in boiling water for 5 minutes. I do this by heating up water in my tea kettle, and then pouring the boiling water over the cashews in a large glass measuring cup.
- Cook pasta – Cook the pasta according to package instructions, but do not overcook. Drain and set aside.
- Blend cheese sauce – Drain the soaked cashews and discard the soaking water. Add the cashews, fresh water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, turmeric, garlic powder, salt and bag of shredded cheese (if using) to a high powered blender and blend until very smooth.
Stovetop version
- Simply return the pasta to the pot and pour in the cheese sauce. Stir until the sauce thickens and serve immediately.
Baked version (the best!)
- Make the breadcrumb topping by mixing the breadcrumbs, melted vegan butter and smoked paprika in a small bowl until crumbly and moist.
- Add the drained pasta to the prepared casserole dish, and pour in the cheese sauce. Stir to coat the noodles. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on the pasta and bake, uncovered for 15 minutes. I also broiled it for a few minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The bag of vegan cheddar cheese is optional. If you don’t want to use vegan cheese, reduce the water to 1 cup, especially if not baking it. This way, the sauce will be thicker and creamier.
- The cheese sauce freezes well, so feel free to make extra sauce and freeze some for a super quick meal or kid’s lunch option.
- Leftovers will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator. The sauce does thicken when it cools or sits out for awhile, but there is an easy fix. Simply add a little warm water and stir, noodles and all, while you reheat it. The sauce will thin and it will be perfect again.
- Gluten free – Use gluten free pasta, any variety you like.
- Nut free – Go make my Dairy Free Mac and Cheese, which is nut free.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally posted in August 2018 and has been updated November 2021 with new photos and better instructions. I also added an optional bag of vegan cheese and an optional topping for baking.
This was delicious! We have dairy-free and gluten-free people in our family. I made the stove top version using gluten-free Tinkyada Pasta Joy Brown Rice elbow pasta and the Kroger Simple Truth cheddar DF shreds, exactly as instructed. Even those without any diet issues thought it was wonderful and went back for seconds. This is an easy to follow, simple and quick recipe. Thank you so much for posting it!
You bet, Elissa! Thank you for using my Mac and cheese recipe! I’m thrilled that it was a hit! I appreciate your fabulous review and feedback!
Very good! In order to save $ I use a blend of sweet and gold potato and cut down the cashews to 1/2 cup. I also use Black salt(kala namak).It has a sulphur flavor to give an eggy resonance. I also use a good apple cider vinegar if I dont have lemon on hand. And alt milk instead of water…thank you for the guidelines to help me create a great dish!
Hi Donna. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing your ideas and review!
Hi,
My daughter is both lactose intolerant and allergic to cashews. We have to be careful with alternative dairy products because of the prevalence of cashews. What could we substitute for the cashews? My daughter will eat other nuts she isn’t allergic to. She is allergic to cashews, peanuts, and pistachios. She eats almonds and almond butter daily. She also eats hazelnuts and walnuts pretty regularly.
If she can eat almonds, then raw slivered almonds work pretty well! Or sunflower seeds if those are safe.
A big fan of this after making it. SO quick to whip up and tastes miles better than vegan roux based Mac and Cheese dishes. We added some vegan BBQ chicken pieces on top and that made it a lovely treat.
BBQ Chicken pieces…YUMM! Thanks for sharing your delicious idea and fabulous review!
OMG…. I have searched high and low for a wonderful vegan Mac n cheese recipe. I’ve made them all. Nothing comes even CLOSE to this one!! My non vegan family were all very pleasantly surprised! This is so delicious! I didn’t have time to do the baked version so I added a little smoked paprika into the cheese sauce while blending, otherwise I stuck to the recipe (which technically the paprika is a part of). Thank you for sharing this with the world and you can absolutely label this as the BEST cheese sauce for Mac n cheese!!
You are welcome, Melanie! Your feedback is so encouraging and fun! Thanks for taking time to share your fabulous review! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
This was AMAZING! My husband has raved about this meal for 3 days, and he’s a meat and dairy kinda guy; said it has the best flavor of any mac-n-cheese ever!!! As a vegan, we have little crossover with our meals. The cheese sauce…I’m already making a second batch. Tastes like real cheese, has the texture of real cheese sauce – it’s absolutely incredible. We will be adding this to rice, soup, potatoes, nachos, everything that would be yummy cheesy. A note of my ingredients: I used a wheel of Good Planet smoked cheddar and added some Myoko’s liquid mozzarella. I added onion power to the sauce, and two small cans of Rotel to the cooked noodles. I used Ancient Grains Garden Pagodas for the noodles and they were perfect for holding all that cheese sauce. Highly recommend! Thank you so much, I’ve already shared this recipe to my lactose-intolerant bestie.
Hi Mindy. Thanks for sharing your recipe additions – they sound absolutely delicious! I appreciate your awesome review, and am thrilled you and your husband love the Mac and cheese!
Best Mac and cheese ever, I’ve added some sliced jalapenos for heat and it’s delicious!! Super easy to make, the baked version is the best 10/10👏👏
Thanks for sharing your wonderful idea and review! I’m so glad you loved the Mac and cheese!
Really good! Did not use the vegan chees, and I just did the stove top version, because I wanted to get a taste of it first. Next time I will bake it. Very tasty!
Is the 12 oz of pasta cooked or uncooked? Thank you!
Uncooked!
I made a GF version of this (for Super Bowl) for a friend’s 8 year old daughter who never gets to eat Mac and cheese. I added turkey bacon and subbed crushed potato chips on top and she loved it so much she requested that I make it for their annual family party tomorrow. I didn’t use any df cheese – I don’t think it needs it – the cashew sauce is so creamy! Thank you for this recipe!
I followed the recipe, however I found the taste to be lacking, unfortunately. Not the warm, delightfully cheesy mac I was hoping for. Will try a few other recipes to compare.
Wow! I’m new to following a vegan diet. This was my first time making vegan mac and cheese, and I must say, it was fabulous! Very, very flavorful! Seriously, it tasted as good as my former version with sharp cheddar. I followed the recipe exactly (included the Follow Your Heart cheddar shreds and baked it with panko topping), except I did add about half a tsp white pepper to the sauce. Nice thing is, I did not get that heavy feeling after eating it, as I normally do with real cheese and whole milk.
Thank you, Nora!
You are welcome, Beth. Thank you for checking out my recipes as you enter into a vegan diet. I appreciate your fabulous review, and wish you lots of happy cooking! Please reach out with any questions you may have about any of my recipes!
I’ve tried many different vegan Mac and Cheese recipes over the years, and this one is hands down the absolute best! I omitted the lemon (personal preference) but otherwise followed the recipe. My family loved it!
I’ve been wanting to try mac ‘n’ cheese for a while, and today I did it using this recipe. I love it! I also added some vegan ham, because I remember eating a similar dish with ham once at a friend’s house.
Your Mac and cheese sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and feedback! I’m glad you loved the recipe!
This is the best vegan mac and cheese recipe ever. My husband said it was just absolutely delicious and even earned me after a mouthful that there would be no leftovers for the following day!!
Awesome that the Mac and cheese was a hit! Thanks for your wonderful review and feedback!
Amazing baked. Added vegan cheese but only used half of sauce. Cant wait to make my next batch.
This stuff is a favorite at my house! I made it yesterday (changes: added two chopped jalapenos and doubled the smoked paprika since I am currently obsessed with it). My partner loves it and my middle kid, 21 and not vegan) stopped by and wolfed down almost all the rest of the leftovers. This is why I love your recipes Nora! They are legitimately loved across the board by vegans and non vegans alike.
I sure appreciate your encouraging feedback, Jen! Your Mac and cheese sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
This recipe is amazing! The Mac & cheese is super filling and perfect with a side salad. Will definitely be making again and adding to my recipe book.
Thank you for the wonderful words, Shelby! 🙂
This is a keeper ~ Excellent!
I have made this dish several times and it is amazing! I take it to work for everyone and it’s gone at the end of the day. It’s even a request by them that I make it!
How awesome that you share this with your co-workers! Thank you again, Crystal, for sharing your wonderful review! Happy cooking to you!
This is my favorite vegan mac n cheese recipe!
I add about half the water it calls for because I add my own vegan cheese. I also put in a splash of soy milk and add more salt than the recipe calls for. I top it with Chives and less breadcrumbs than the recipe calls for.
I tested both versions and they are both amazing (though I also prefer the baked version when I have the extra time)! Unfortunately I didn’t have any vegan cheese at home but I still love the taste and texture
Hi Julia. I appreciate your wonderful review, and am glad you loved the Mac and cheese! Thank you for sharing!
This.Is.Oustanding!!!!
I made this gluten free as well. I made the bake in the oven version with the bread crumbs. Took someone’s idea and used rice chex for the topping. This is creamy, great flavor and the right texture. Wish I would have found this recipe sooner. Who thought DF/GF could be great?!
I am thrilled that you loved the Mac and Cheese, Amy! Thanks for taking time to share your wonderful review! I’m glad you found the recipe! Happy cooking!
My husband made this for dinner tonight and it was unreal! He used a whole bag of shredded vegan cheddar (Violife), did the panko topping, and used 1/3 cup of nooch instead of 1/2 cup as a personal preference. So good! Can’t wait to make it again. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
You are welcome, Krista! I appreciate you sharing your wonderful review and recipe cooking experience! I’m glad you enjoyed the Mac and cheese!
This is a taste recipe. I made the baked version. I wish that I had used less of the breadcrumb topping though, it was too much. I made it a second time and used avocado instead of vegan cheese, it was amazing!
This was very good. I used Banza chickpea pasta and crushed rice Chex to make it gluten free. I also followed the advice of another commenter to boil the cashews for 10 minutes and let them sit in the hot water while it cooled, because I don’t have a high powered blender, and they blended perfectly after that. Very smooth and creamy. No one at the dinner was vegan, just two people had dairy and gluten sensitivities, but everyone seemed to like it. My husband and I both happily ate leftovers the next day, and my mom asked for the recipe. Definitely the best vegan mac and cheese I’ve tried, and incredibly easy to make.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful tips and review! I’m glad you loved the Mac and cheese!
I had family in for the holidays that are Vegan and one has to eat gluten free.
I made your recipe with gluten free pasta and it was a big hit! Thank you for a great recipe!
You are welcome, Cynthia! I’m thrilled the recipe was a hit! Thank you for your fabulous review!